The Road to Hana. If you search “things to do in Maui”, this will, without a doubt, be one of the first things on the list. Hana itself is a small town on the eastern side of Maui known for its charm. The Road to Hana, however, is a scenic drive where you will see waterfalls, beautiful landscapes, beaches, and forests.

There are over 30 stops you can make on the Road to Hana. But the first thing you need to decide is if you are going to do the traditional Road to Hana route, or the Reverse Road to Hana. We chose to do the reverse route to avoid tourist crowds and it was absolutely the correct decision for us. We hit one of the (typically) most crowded spots first thing in the morning and saw only two other couples there.
Regardless of which way you go, the drive (with stops) takes about 10-12 hours. If you go in the winter like we did, there are only about 10 hours of sunlight a day so we made sure to be at the first stop right around sunrise. I highly recommend downloading the Shaka Guide app. It can map you to all of the locations you want to go to as well as provide information about the locations. Below you will find a list of all of the stops on the Road to Hana. Due to our time crunch, we didn’t hit all of them, but the ones we did are marked with a *.

Natural Sea Arch
A dried lava flow sculpted by the ocean waves.

Huakini Beach
A beach with rocks instead of sand.

*View of Nu’u Bay & Haleakala
This is where we were around sunrise. We pulled into one of the pull off areas and admired the view.

Alelele Falls
A 50ft tall waterfall with a pool.

Charles Lindbergh’s Grave
Lindenbergh is famous for making a non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

*’Ohe’o Gulch
Route 360 – Mile Marker 42

Ohe’o Gulch, also known as the Seven Sacred Pools is a series of beautiful waterfalls. The Kūloa Point Trail is an easy, half mile loop that will take you to ‘Ohe’o Gulch.
When you put this location into your GPS, if you put ‘Ohe’o Gulch it will take you to where the trail crosses over the main road (where there is nowhere to park). Instead, put “Kīpahulu Visitor Center” and that will take you to a parking lot. Since ‘Ohe’o Gulch is technically part of Haleakalā, there is an entrance fee.
Tip: Entrance passes to Haleakalā are good for 72 hours, so if you visit Haleakalā and ‘Ohe’o Gulch within 3 days, you only have to pay the entrance fee once!

*Pīpīwai Trail
Route 360 – Mile Marker 42

When you get back to the trailhead of the Kūloa Point Trail, you can change course and head up the Pīpīwai Trail. This is a 4 mile trail that takes you through a beautiful bamboo forest to Waimoku Falls, a stunning 400ft tall waterfall.

*Lookout for Wailua Falls
Route 360 – Mile Marker 45

This isn’t something you can put into your maps. You either need to use the Shaka Guide map or just keep a look out to the left for an 80ft waterfall as you are passing over a bridge. We pulled off the side of the road (along with about 10 other cars), and walked to the bridge for a good view of the falls. To get a more up close view of the falls, you can take the small trail just to the right of the bridge. Be careful, it can be very slippery!

Venus Pools
Route 360 – Mile Marker 48
A secret swimming hole where you can do rock jumping – if you dare.

Hamoa Beach
Route 360 – Mile Marker 51
A large, sandy beach. Perfect for a break from driving.

Koki Beach
Route 360 – Mile Marker 49
Another place to break from driving. This beach is adjacent to a large hill.

Hasegawa General Store
Route 360 – Mile Marker
A great stop for snacks.
Tip: The only gas station in Hana is next to the Hasewaga General Store.

Tip: When you arrive in Hana, the mile markers begin counting down!

*Hana Town
Route 360 – Mile Marker 34

Great place to stop and have some lunch. We visited the Fresh Farm Stand and tried fresh smoothies, rambutans, and cacao!
Tip: When eating cacao, suck the sweet fruit from the outside and spit out the bitter pit…learned that the hard way.

*Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach
Route 360 – Mile Marker 32

Beautiful black sand beach. The black sand is made from shattered pieces of lava. On one side of the beach, you can walk up the cliffs and see the waves crash into them. On the other side, you can walk into a natural lava tube, created over years by the ocean waves.
Tip: You need a reservation to visit. You can make reservations up to 30 days prior to your visit, but can NOT be made same day.

Kahanu Gardens
Route 360 – Mile Marker 31
Part of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, home to the ancient Hawaiian temple, Pi’ilanihale Heiau, the largest in Hawaii. There is an admission fee to enter the gardens.

Lookout for Makapipi Falls
Route 360 – Mile Marker 25
An easy waterfall to spot as you drive by!

Secret Lava Tube Cave
Route 360 – Mile Marker 19
This cave was formed when lava from a volcanic eruption cooled and hardened on the outside, while the molten lava kept flowing on the inside. Once the lava drained out, it left behind this hollow tunnel-like structure.

Waikani Falls
Route 360 – Mile Marker 19
Nicknamed the “Three Bears Falls”, Waikani Falls is a series of 3 waterfalls of varying heights. Be aware, there is no parking at these falls.

*Wailua State Wayside Park
Route 360 – Mile Marker 18
An overlook where you can see Wailua Town to one side and the Haleakalā volcano to the other!

*Halfway to Hana Food Stand
Route 360 – Mile Marker 17
Great place for a snack! I read several rave reviews about the banana bread at the Halfway to Hana Food Stand, and it did not dissapoint!

*Ke’anae Valley Overlook & Peninsula
Route 360 – Mile Marker 16

There is a small parking lot you can pull off to on the way to the peninsula. We just sat and watched the waves crash over the jagged rocks for a while.
You can drive down to see the rest of the peninsula as well, but we thought the overlook was the best part!

Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread
Route 360 – Mile Marker 16
A small, local banana bread stand on the Ke’anae Peninsula!

*Ke’anae Arboretum
Route 360 – Mile Marker 16

We drove back and forth a few times to find the entrance to the Arboretum, but it was worth it. We saw rainbow eucalyptus trees, papaya trees, and (what we think were) guava plants! It didn’t take long to walk through the whole thing, maybe 30 minutes.

Garden of Eden
Route 360 – Mile Marker 10
Full of beautiful plants, trees, and flowers, so it feels like a little slice of paradise. You can walk around, check out the waterfalls, and even get a great view of the ocean. There’s also some cool wildlife like peacocks and ducks roaming around.

Waikamoi Ridge Trail
Route 360 – Mile Marker 9
A peaceful, three-quarter-mile loop trail that takes you through the lush rainforest.

Twin Falls
Route 360 – Mile Marker 2
A short walk leads to one of the most popular waterfalls on the Road to Hana with a small swimming hole to take a dip.

Jaws
Route 36 – Mile Marker 13
The beach that was used to film the movie Jaws, hence the name. Jaws Beach has incredible waves that reach up to 70 feet tall, but only between the months of December and March. We tried to go since we were there in December, but the roads to get there required a 4×4 vehicle which we unfortunately did not have.

*Hookipa Beach
Route 36 – Mile Marker 9

Another reason to do the Reverse Road to Hana is being at Hookipa Beach for sunset. It was one of the most incredible sunsets we saw during our time in Hawaii. The best view is from the parking lot where you can take in the whole scene. Do make sure to walk down to the beach at some point to see all the turtles – there were dozens on the beach when we went!!

*Paia Town
Route 36 – Mile Marker 7
The last stop on the Reverse Road to Hana! Paia Town is a quaint little town with several cute shops and restaurants. We went to Paia Fish Market – I got a fresh catch plate with mahi-mahi sautéed and it was amazing!
We had also visited Paia town the morning before and got breakfast, so if you do the traditional Road to Hana, I highly recommend the banana bread french toast at Island Fresh Cafe! Fluffy but hearty banana bread with fresh fruits on top was a great way to start the day!